Seasons | Linda "Mamo" Robert's Story
Seasons.
For many people, December – a season marked by joy, laughter, and parties – is the most difficult and painful month of the year.
The anniversary of the death of a loved one. Loneliness. Health problems and frightening diagnoses. Depression. Relationship woes.
There are countless reasons the “season of cheer” can be anything but happy for many people. Can God truly redeem the heartache and pain?
Linda “Mamo” Roberts stands as a testimony of God’s redeeming love. He is the miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, and redeemer of all things, especially in the worst circumstances.
Over the past several years, Linda has become well acquainted with this truth around the holidays. In fact, although she couldn’t have known it at the time, on Christmas Eve 2010, God was carefully positioning her for an incredible redemptive work. In sharing her story, she hopes people who are hurting through this season, as she has, will see God can and will bring you through it all. She credits her solid faith in Christ for pulling her through it all.
If you or a loved one are in need of care this season, don't hesitate to reach out to our Care Team for counseling or look into our Care Groups.
It was the first time in two days that Linda had stepped foot outside of the hospital. The morning before Thanksgiving, her husband Gayle was taken to the hospital after his heart started acting up.
The medical staff had finally cleared him to go home, so she decided to zip back to the house to get cleaned up and grab some fresh clothes for him.
Pulling into the driveway, she opened the garage door. Several open boxes filled with Christmas lights and other holiday decorations greeted her. Only one string of lights was up on the house, and she doubted the others would make it. That was ok—she was just glad Gayle would be home in time for his birthday tomorrow!
This isn't how Linda envisioned the first Christmas in their new home, but she counted her blessings, and Gayle was a big one.
Linda went into the bathroom to freshen up, change clothes, and then pack a small bag for Gayle. She thought about the birthday cake she still wanted to bake and hoped there would be enough time in the afternoon.
"I'll be home for my birthday!" he told her that morning. After a couple of days in the hospital, neither one of them could think of a better gift, and this wasn't any old birthday, either! Gayle would be turning 80! The party would be far from what she'd planned weeks earlier, but she was looking forward to the celebration.
Heading back to the hospital, Linda wove her way through the crazy holiday Black Friday traffic. Two blocks from the hospital, the phone rang. The number was unfamiliar, but she answered anyway.
"Hello, this is Linda."
"Linda? This is one of the nurses at the hospital. Are you close?" The nurse sounded calm but unsettled.
"Yes, I'm just a couple blocks away. Is everyth-," Linda was interrupted.
"Linda, I need you to hurry. When you get here, park by the door. There will be another nurse waiting for you. When you see her, hand her your purse and head straight to Gayle's room as fast as you can."
Linda's heart sank. Staring at the red stoplight, she knew this news wasn't good. She searched for the words.
"OK. I'll be there soon. What's happened?"
"Linda, the nurse attending to him just called a code blue."
Linda dropped the phone. She pushed through traffic, parked the car just as instructed, and rushed to Gayle's room. The medical team was busy working on him, trying to get a pulse. She wasn't prepared for the chaotic scene she'd walked into but was grateful they permitted her to be in the room.
After several minutes, the doctor turned to her. "Mrs. Roberts, we've been working on Gayle for nearly an hour, and I still can't get a heartbeat. What would you like us to do?"
Taking a deep breath, Linda replied, her voice just above a whisper, "Leave him alone. He's not there anymore."
Hot tears ran down her face as she tried to catch her breath. Another nurse handed her some tissues.
"I'm so sorry," the doctor answered, cueing the rest of the team to leave the room. "You take as much time as you need here. Is there anyone else you need us to call?"
"No, they are all on their way," Linda replied. She had texted one of her daughters at the first opportunity once she'd gotten to the hospital.
Linda stepped closer to Gayle's body and sat on the edge of his bed. She grabbed his hand, kissed his forehead, and prayed.
"What now, God? What now?"
Linda couldn't imagine her life without this man who'd been at her side for the past 19 years. Soon, her family arrived. Each one was utterly stunned by the events and unexpected outcome of the past three days. Huddling together, they spent the last hours of this most difficult day comforting one another and saying goodbye. Shortly after midnight on Gayle's 80th birthday, the funeral home took his body away.
Within a week, Gayle's Celebration of Life was planned and arranged with the help of close friends and pastors at Westside. Linda was barely functioning and relied heavily on her closest friends and children.
"Linda, how many people do you think will attend the service?" Pastor Jim Heaton called to ask her one morning. "It will help us determine which space to set up at Westside."
Linda guessed. Perhaps 150 people would come. Gayle was retired but drove a bus for the Blue Valley School District. She knew he was beloved by many but had no idea the sheer number of people who would show up to honor him. As people lined up to come into the service, it became clear they needed a bigger space for the crowd.
"Linda," Pastor Joe Klassen leaned down and whispered. "We were a little off on our people estimate."
Linda turned and looked at him with surprise.
"We have a bit of a Dave Ramsey-type line happening outside!" Joe smiled, not knowing that Gayle would often refer to long lines the same way. While intended for light humor, the remark was a true comfort from Christ to Linda's grieving heart. Gayle had only attended Westside for about a year before he died but quickly endeared himself to many. It showed.
The family stood up and followed Joe to the south sanctuary, where the Westside team was busily prepping the room for the service.
One Sunday morning a couple of weeks later, Linda forced herself out of bed. She wanted to be back at Westside, determined not to allow grief to steal any more of the Christmas season from her. Christmas at Westside had always been special to her. In fact, it was Christmas Eve, 2010, when she first stepped foot inside the church.
That first Westside Christmas, Linda was alone. Gayle wanted to attend Catholic Mass, but she knew she needed a different experience with her Savior. With several friends attending Westside Family Church, Linda decided to try it.
That beautiful first evening, Linda walked into the main commons of the building and felt the warmth of the community. Families with young children dressed in their Christmas attire reminded her of when her children were that small. Linda entered the sanctuary and climbed the stairs to the top row of seats in the balcony, where she was less likely to be noticed.
"Dear God, I need you," Linda remembered praying in silence while fighting the tears that welled up in her eyes. She had been praying for direction. She couldn't explain it, but during that service, she was overwhelmed by a sense that God was telling her she was home.
Over the coming years, Linda faithfully attended Westside each week. Each Sunday, she would tell Gayle about the message when she got home. He didn't understand her enthusiasm and even seemed to resent it at times, but one Sunday eight years later, Linda returned home from church to find Gayle sitting in his favorite chair with the Bible open on his lap.
"I want to understand what you've found," he told her.
From that time until his death, Gayle attended Westside with Linda every Sunday. Together, their faith and understanding of Jesus grew. They joined an A2 Community and dove into scripture through series like Believe. Together they experienced a new richness in their marriage that hadn't been there before.
But now, here she was. It was December, nine years after she first visited Westside. She was alone again, but this time filled with grief. Sitting in her car, not knowing if she could go in, she sat in silence and cried.
"Knock, knock."
Startled, Linda looked up to see a man standing next to her car, peering in. As she rolled down the window, the man asked if she was OK.
"Oh, thank you for checking on me. My husband just died, and I'm trying to get it together to go in."
The man nodded, offered some awkward condolences, and stepped away to give Linda the space she needed in her grief.
Thirty more minutes passed, and Linda knew she wasn't ready to do it. Shifting the car into reverse, she decided to return home.
The following week, she decided to try again. This time she told a group of young women she affectionately referred to as "her girls" that she was coming. She walked to the glass doors and saw them waiting for her inside with ready hugs.
Linda couldn't even get through the door when the women rushed around her with big hugs. They guided her into the packed sanctuary, weaving their way to a row of chairs near the front they'd reserved with jackets and bags. Joyful music filled the air, and Linda felt the loving touch of the women who'd gathered around her.
"Linda, you can't be alone anymore," God whispered. "Here is your family."
With the calendar change came a new year with new challenges.
2020.
There was a buzz in the news about a mysterious virus plaguing countries overseas. Linda didn't think much of it. Instead, she threw herself into her catering business, Mamo's Kitchen. It was a good distraction, she thought. Most nights, Linda worked through the night to get ahead on catering projects and avoid going home to an empty house. Somehow it was easier for her to go home in the morning for a nap.
Her grief and hard work, however, were taking a significant toll on her body. In March, when Kansas was told to shelter in place, the catering business dried up overnight. Linda didn't know what she would do.
One evening in early April, Linda was on the phone with her friend Leslie reading and discussing a Psalm. Linda suddenly noticed she couldn’t hear Leslie very well and quickly excused herself and hung up. As she tried to stand up, Linda blacked out and fell to the ground.
As she came back around, Linda was confused and tried making sense of why she was on the floor. Attempted to get up again her body wouldn’t move, and she became convinced she was dying. An odd peace washed over her.
Linda had suffered a stroke with a brain aneurysm. Her brain cavity was filling with blood. After a moment, she managed to push a button on her phone which was still in her hand.
“Hi Mom,” it was Linda’s daughter Niki.
“Niki…I’m in trouble,” Linda managed.
Assuring her mother she was on the way, Niki called 9-1-1 and sped to her mother's house while she waited for the ambulance.
Despite pandemic protocols, the hospital remarkably permitted Niki to wait inside the hospital during Linda's emergency surgery and meet her in the ICU afterward. Once Linda awoke from the anesthesia, Niki explained what had happened. Linda would be in the hospital for at least two more weeks without any visitors because of the pandemic. Niki's departure that day would usher in the two most lonely weeks of Linda's life while she waited for her body to recover. Her only company was round-the-clock nursing care, an occasional phone call, and God.
One day, as Linda lay in her bed, staring out the window at a brick wall, she felt a refreshing rush of cool air. It wasn't the air conditioner. There was no reasonable explanation of where it came from, but for whatever reason, the air directed Linda’s attention to an empty chair in the corner of the room.
"Be still and know I am God."
She recognized the whisper in her heart. She'd heard it before. It was her Savior.
"Be still and know I am God."
There it was again. She grabbed hold of that verse as her mantra, and slowly, her body began to heal.
2020 would become her year of forced stillness, healing, and recovery. She knew God had more for her, but life had shifted so radically that she wondered what that could look like.
In early 2021, she saw that Westside was hiring. One particular job caught her attention, so she called her friend Amy Dmyterko to ask about it.
"Amy, after hearing you talk about it, I think I know someone who would be really good at it."
"Oh, you do? Who?"
"ME!"
Amy didn't think Linda was serious at first, but the more the women talked about it, it seemed like it could work. After a round of interviews, Linda was hired.
For the next year and a half, Linda's cheerful smile greeted regular Sunday attendees and visitors alike. Her smile was so bright that nobody could have guessed the pain or trauma she'd experienced over the past two years or how different her life had become. Yet, each Sunday, she stood in the Westside commons as a testimony to God's faithfulness and constant presence amid deep, dark valleys. He was redeeming and using it all for his purpose.
The following summer (2022), Linda approached a milestone birthday – her 70th! As the days closed in on this momentous date, she began feeling a stirring in her spirit to take action on something she should have done long ago…baptism. Linda had been reluctant to experience a full-immersion baptism due to a near-drowning incident when was 7 years old. But she needed a new start and sensed God was calling her to take this vital step of faith, testifying to his good and redeeming work in her life. Working up the courage, Linda invited everyone she could think of to attend. She knew their presence would strengthen her against the intimating water.
Finally, the day arrived! Linda walked to the baptismal tank with her daughter, Niki, by her side. Amy Dmyterko grabbed Linda’s hand to help her steady herself as she carefully stepped into the water. More than 200 friends gathered to celebrate this day. Yes, she could do this.
Amy began talking with Linda about her decision.
"Are you ready, friend?" Amy asked.
Linda nodded, tears welling in her eyes.
"Linda, when you go under the water, all your sins will wash away," Amy said. "They'll literally fall away to the bottom of this tank."
Linda smiled brightly at the thought.
"Linda Roberts, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
Leaning back, Linda felt the cool water rush over her face. But this time, there was no panic. Only peace. As she emerged, she saw every sin slip away, falling to the bottom of that tank. She was washed clean and purified. She knew she could start over.
Baptism photos by David Tjiptogarsono
The following month ushered in a series of events and answered prayers in the most unexpected way for Linda.
For some time, her sister Eileen had been thinking about playing matchmaker. Unbeknownst to her, Linda had been praying about a growing desire to love someone again.
"Ken, I want you to call the number of this piece of paper," Eileen smiled as she shoved a piece of paper into her coworker's hand.
Eileen was a good friend and a trusted coworker at the local fabric factory in Linda’s hometown of Plainville, Kansas.
Ken stared at the paper and looked perplexed.
"It's Linda's number. You really should call her."
"Oh, Eileen, I don't know," Ken started, glancing up from the paper.
"Just think about it," Eileen smiled. "I really think the two of you should reconnect. And just so you know, I'm not going to let this go!"
Ken and Linda knew each other when they were kids. He was a couple of years older than her and always thought she was sweet and kinda cute. Fleeting thoughts of asking her out on a date way back then were always interrupted by the fact that Linda had a steady boyfriend. After high school, they lost touch and moved away from small-town life.
Ken eventually moved back to Plainville to help run the local factory. That's when he reconnected with Linda's sister, Eileen, and developed a good working friendship. They often talked about their families.
Ken emptied his pockets on the dresser that afternoon when he got home. There was that phone number. He picked it up again and then put it back down.
"Who am I kidding?" He mumbled.
Over the next few weeks, Ken often looked at the number but couldn't pick up the phone. He wanted to call, but then, what was the point? He wasn't interested in moving to Kansas City, and he couldn’t imagine a city girl like Linda caring to move back to Plainville, Kansas.
One quiet evening, the phone rang. It was an oddly familiar number Ken didn't recognize. He let it go to voice mail and waited for the notification.
“Hi Ken, this is Linda,” Linda giggled. “Eileen seems to think we ought to talk, get reacquainted and catch up with each other. I look forward to talking with you. Bye.”
Ken listened to the message several times before he went to bed that night. The following day he went to work as usual and avoided the topic with Eileen, but he couldn’t get it off his mind. Should he call her back?
When he got home that afternoon, he paced the floor for three hours, turning over all the possibilities and working up the courage to call.
Finally, he dialed the number.
"Hello?" a voice answered.
“Hello, Linda? This is Ken.”
“Oh, hello Ken!” Linda laughed on the other end. “It’s nice to hear from you.”
The pair talked for quite a while before agreeing to a few more phone calls and, eventually, a late August dinner date in Topeka. The meal led to hours of conversation and a daily 5 a.m. phone date when they would read devotionals and pray together. Over the next several weeks, they covered all the important topics: family, their faith journeys, and the fact that they both had unassuming crushes on the other back in high school!
As the rediscovered friendship grew, their fondness for one another blossomed into love. On October 7, Ken and Linda met again for dinner in Topeka as they'd become accustomed to doing.
"What looks good on the menu tonight?" Ken smiled.
"Well, I had my eye on the salmon, but it might be a little too much for me. Would you like to split it?" Linda replied.
"Yes, actually! I was thinking the same thing!"
As dinner progressed, Linda noticed something different about Ken. He seemed…nervous.
"Linda," he began, "you know I've really enjoyed getting to know you these last couple of months. I'm amazed at how quickly I've fallen for you."
Linda agreed, and as the conversation continued, they marveled at all their similarities and shared heart for God. Neither one could get over how quickly God seemed to be knitting their hearts together. Soon, Ken got up from the table and hugged Linda. As he stepped back from their embrace, there between the two of them, Ken held a small box.
"For 20 years, I've been praying for you, Linda. I didn't know it was you, but I was praying. Will you please marry me so we can spend the rest of our lives together?"
"Yes! Yes! YES!" Linda burst into tears. "I've been praying for you, too!"
Linda and Ken began making plans for a January wedding. Still, as they worked toward combining two households, they began wondering why they were waiting.
"Ken, I've been thinking about something," Linda said one afternoon at lunch.
"What's that?" Ken took another of his turkey sandwich.
"Well, you know we've been saying for a while that when you get to our age, you just know," Linda began.
Ken nodded and took a sip of water.
"Why are we waiting until January?" Linda asked.
"I'm not sure I understand what you are saying," Ken locked eyes with her.
"I'm saying, what if we just got married now and have a big celebration later when the weather is nice?"
"Linda, that's the best idea I've heard all week!"
The following Sunday morning, November 19, 2022, after a small church service at an intimate little church in Plainville, Kansas, the pair committed their lives to one another in the company of family and close friends.
If you miss seeing Linda at Westside, she misses you, too, and hopes to come for another visit soon…maybe even during this most precious of church seasons…Christmas.
